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Tue, May 10 2011 14:35:44

Twitter and Osama bin Laden's Death

[Updated] An aide to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld broke the news that Osama bin Laden was dead -- on Twitter. And an IT guy in Pakistan unknowingly live-tweeted the attack. Follow along to see how the story played out on Twitter.

  1. Early Monday May 2, 2011, Sohaib Athar (@ReallyVirtual) tweeted from Abbottabad Lahore Pakistan. 

  2. ReallyVirtual
    Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).
    ReallyVirtual
    Sun, May 01 2011 15:58:24
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  3. According to this time zone converter, 1 AM Monday May 2 in Pakistan is the same as 3 PM Sunday May 1 on the U.S. east coast.

    Given the hour of the day, it's no wonder that @ReallyVirtual made note of the noise.
  4. ReallyVirtual
    Go away helicopter - before I take out my giant swatter :-/
    ReallyVirtual
    Sun, May 01 2011 16:05:31
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  5. ReallyVirtual
    A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad Cantt. I hope its not the start of something nasty :-S
    ReallyVirtual
    Sun, May 01 2011 16:09:10
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  6. ReallyVirtual
    @m0hcin all silent after the blast, but a friend heard it 6 km away too... the helicopter is gone too.
    ReallyVirtual
    Sun, May 01 2011 16:44:48
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  7. ReallyVirtual
    @m0hcin http://bit.ly/ljB6p6 seems like my giant swatter worked !
    ReallyVirtual
    Sun, May 01 2011 16:46:39
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  8. His bit.ly link goes to this story:



    Helicopter Crashed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, Near Military Academy of Kakool

    May, 2, 2011

    A big blast is heard near the biggest military academy of Kakool, in Abbottabad . People are saying that it is due to a helicopter crash near the Kakool academy's residential academy. Security forces have surrounded the place and investigations are underway.


  9. He followed the tweet with a bit of commentary:
  10. ReallyVirtual
    Since taliban (probably) don't have helicpoters, and since they're saying it was not "ours", so must be a complicated situation #abbottabad
    ReallyVirtual
    Sun, May 01 2011 17:02:08
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  11. @ReallyVirtual chats with other Twitter users about the helicopter and the situation in Pakistan:
  12. ReallyVirtual
    @raihak yep, the mad power cuts have reached abbottabad - 14 hours daily - luckily I have a generator AND a UPS at the coffee shop
    ReallyVirtual
    Sun, May 01 2011 17:03:06
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  13. ReallyVirtual
    The abbottabad helicopter/UFO was shot down near the Bilal Town area, and there's report of a flash. People saying it could be a drone.
    ReallyVirtual
    Sun, May 01 2011 17:10:32
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  14. ReallyVirtual
    @smedica people are saying it was not a technical fault and it was shot down. I heard it CIRCLE 3-4 times above, sounded purposeful.
    ReallyVirtual
    Sun, May 01 2011 17:15:15
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  15. ReallyVirtual
    Here's the location of the Abbottabad crash according to some people >>> http://on.fb.me/khjf34
    ReallyVirtual
    Sun, May 01 2011 17:34:46
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  16. Special Service Group (S.S.G) - Pakistan Army - Commandos's Photos - Wall Photos (7)
    facebook.com
    Mon, May 02 2011 02:47:44
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  17. For time perspective, this iPhone screenshot was taken at 2.22 AM in Pakistan; that's 4.22 PM on the U.S. east coast.
  18. ReallyVirtual
    Two helicpoters, one down, could actually be the training accident scenario they're saying it was >> http://bit.ly/ioGE6O
    ReallyVirtual
    Sun, May 01 2011 17:43:55
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  19. @ReallyVirtual then retweets information from the Pakistani Army. Pakistan officials are trying to quell worries about an attack on the country.

    Based on timestamps, this should be about 3 AM in Pakistan or 5 PM on the U.S. east coast.
  20. terminalxpk
    A Major of the #Pakistan #Army's 19 FF, Platoon CO says incident at #Abbottabad where #helicopter crashed is accidental and not an "attack"
    terminalxpk
    Sun, May 01 2011 17:57:03
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  21. terminalxpk
    The Major also says no "missiles" were fired and all such exaggerated reports are nothing but rumours #Pakistan
    terminalxpk
    Sun, May 01 2011 17:57:45
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  22. More eyewitness observation:
  23. ReallyVirtual
    And now, a plane flying over Abbottabad...
    ReallyVirtual
    Sun, May 01 2011 18:39:30
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  24. In Washington, D.C., about 9:45 pm EDT White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer announced a press conference:

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